Various forms of treatment have come into existence to prevent or cure existing and emerging diseases. Their effectiveness lies in the type of disease being treated. In this kind of scenario, I feel I will use eclectic counseling. Eclectic counseling comprises various counseling techniques. This form of treatment/counseling is one of the long-standing approaches where the therapist tries to base his/her counseling concept taken from various available perspectives. Various authors have cited that an eclectic therapist can choose the best among the counseling combinations to ensure the client in context achieves the best guidance in solving the problem at hand. During the treatment process, the therapist puts together measures and techniques which he/she believes are most effective in the client’s case.
Murphy and Dillon (2001) note that the theory of eclectic approach in counseling derives from a number of arguments. These arguments include; no theory has all answers, there are specific matches among theory derived techniques and the varied problems clients present, and the therapist should be responsive to people and personalize approaches and not use a singular approach with all clients.
Murphy and Dillon (2001) claim that a therapist who uses an eclectic approach is able to apply several specific systems of therapy on different clients at different stages of the therapeutic process. Similarly, the therapist is able to match different techniques with his/her client. This approach allows the therapist to approach a patient with the correct treatment depending on the stage or status they are in.
Seligman and Reichenberg (2009) show that termination of counseling is the end of a professional relationship with the client, this termination occurs when the session goals have been achieved. This phenomenon sometimes involves an exit interview and saying ‘goodbye’. Seligman and Reichenberg (2009) illustrate that when a professional relationship with a client reaches the termination stage, it tends to suggest a number of phenomena such as; the counseling process are complete and the time for the client to face life challenges on their own has come, the changes that have taken place during the counseling period have generalized into the normal behavior of the client, and the client has matured and is now able to think and act more effectively and independently.
On a further note, Seligman and Reichenberg (2009) indicate factors that may influence the termination of counseling. They outline them as; the client being able to achieve behavioral, cognitive and effective goals during the counseling period, and the ability of the client to show that he/she has made a progress in what he/she wanted to do during the counseling process.
Sometimes terminating a professional counseling relationship is not easy. This is because the therapist and the client might have forged a long lasting trust and respect. Thus, because of trust and respect, when it comes to termination, both the client and the therapist may not be willing to end the counseling process. Similarly, if termination occurs, it might work against the therapist. This is because of the number of clients he/she is attending to during his/her counseling career. Conversely, when a professional therapist is unable to terminate counseling relationships with clients, he/she might in the end suffer burnout and become emotionally wasted (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2009).
A client may end counseling either before or after the goals are achieved. Most clients who end counseling after the goals have been achieved do this because they feel confident enough to go out and face life challenges on their own, and they are also ready to use the skills they have learned in their day-to-day life. Seligman and Reichenberg (2009) cite that it is important for a therapist to do a review on the goals achieved before continuing with another session. This ensures the counseling journey is on the right track.
Murphy and Dillon (2011) allege that a reflection on the tasks accomplished is significant. Thus, evaluating the progress made should be done by both the client and the therapist to ensure both are attaining the goals they established at the beginning of the counseling. A client may also terminate a counseling relationship because he/she thinks that he/she is not making any progress or he/she is not comfortable dealing with the specific therapist and sometimes because he/she is not ready to cooperate and try the ideas he/she is given by the therapist.
On the other hand, the therapist may initiate the termination because he/she feels the client is now able to take control of situations in his/her life and make clear and independent decisions. Termination of a counseling process might also occur when a therapist thinks that the client has matured and made changes that have turned his/her behaviors to normal. Murphy and Dillon (2011) cite whenever a therapist starts a counseling treatment with a client, he/she should come up with the goals to be achieved at the end of the counseling period and when he /she thinks that these goals have been achieved, then termination the professional relationship should start.
It is also important to note that the counseling process might sometimes be terminated prematurely by the therapist due to various reasons which may include, the client not showing interest in the counseling and a client misinterpreting a professional relationship with the therapist thus putting the therapist in a situation that jeopardizes the counseling code of ethics.
Signs that the client is not interested in the counseling may include lateness for appointments, and failing to do assignments meant to be done before the next meeting. Murphy and Dillon (2011) indicate that in the eclectic approach, there is a possibility of the client getting lost in the middle of the counseling process if the therapist is not careful with the different types of methods applied in solving problems. All said, the therapist should not abandon the client instead he/she should instead refer the client to another therapist whom he/she thinks is in a better position to deal with the specific problems of that client.
Also, Murphy and Dillon (2011) state that” unconditional positive regard gives the client the message that they matter to the therapist and that the therapist is concerned about them and their lives”. Though clients may give all sorts of reasons for terminating counseling prematurely, it is important to note that some clients decide to do so because the counseling is becoming uncomfortable. Most successful counseling gets uncomfortable at some point as a client is pushed to do things that go beyond limits that he/she could not have managed before. The pain of overstretching as one tries to go beyond his/her normal levels could sometimes tempt the client to terminate the counseling prematurely. It is important sometimes for a therapist to do a follow up even though he/she thinks that the client is no longer interested in the process to prove the real reason behind the premature termination of the counseling. Finally, “congruence or being genuine with the client contributes to the establishment of a positive therapeutic relation” (Murphy & Dillon, 2011).
References
Murphy, B. C., & Dillon, C. (2011). Interviewing in action in a multicultural world (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Seligman, L. W. & Reichenberg, L. W. (2009). Theories of counseling and psychotherapy: Systems, strategies, and skills (3rd ed.). Boston: Pearson.